Separated
by Nydiena
Summary: Finding themselves overwhelmed by the foot, Michelangelo and Raphael are left to find their brothers on their own. Can they figure out how to work together or will the absence of the strategist and the genius of the team hurt their chances?
1. Separated

**Separated**

It was a typical night in New York. Four terrapin adolescents patrolled the city from the security of the rooftops. It was unusually warm for an autumn night but that was not an issue with the cold-blooded teens. With all the natural grace of an acrobat, Leonardo executed a full twisting layout from one roof to the next. Not wanting to be out done, Raphael followed closely with a double tuck; his landing heavy and commanding attention to his presence. Donatello settled for pole-vaulting with his trusty bo, completing the landing with some expert twirls of his weapon before sliding it back in its place.

"And now, ladies and gentlebros, we bring you the highlight of the night: The Great and Most Awesome Michelangelo Executing the Bigspin!" The youngest turtle announced, speeding their way on a skateboard. As he reached the edge of the first rooftop, he launched himself into the air. Skateboard turning 360 as he turned 180, landing on the board as it hit the next rooftop. "Whoooooooooooo! Consider yourselves dusted!" He exclaimed as he sped by his brothers backwards. As he gloated, the front wheels sank into a gap in the cement and the cheering turtle went flying into a crash landing on to his carapace.

"Idiot..." Raphael muttered as Donatello shook his head and Leonardo put his face into the palm of his hand.

"It's alright, bros!" Michelangelo immediately leaped into a stand. "I'm okay!"

"Somehow, I find that hard to believe." Donatello sighed. Suddenly, Leonardo stiffened.

"On your guard!" He ordered, pulling his swords out. Brothers followed suit with their respective weapons as they found themselves surrounded by none other than the foot clan.

"Alright! I was waitin' for some action!" Raphael grinned, twirling his sais.

As a ninja came at him, he brought the butt of his sai square into his chest and dropped his elbow down on the hunched form of his attacker before deflecting a swing from another oncoming foe. Michelangelo expertly swung his nunchaku left and right, catching a few by the head or limbs before they could get too close. Bringing the bottom end of his bo staff on the foot of a ninja, Donatello swung around as his enemy grabbed his foot in pain and swept the staff under the lone standing limb to completely take away his balance. It was Leonardo who tapped into his vocabulary of ninja forms to access combinations of sword, kicks and flips like performing an improvised dance routine. All four were on top of their game tonight. It was still early and they had all the energy in the world. That is, until they realized that the clan members kept swarming in. Where one fell, more came in droves. The brothers were beginning to feeling the wait of exhaustion as the supply of enemies seemed non stop.

"What the shell? These guys keep comin'!" Raphael grunted, throwing a ninja into two who were about to attack Donatello from behind.

"It doesn't look like they're going to stop." The family genius shouted as he swung his bo around in a 360, leaning back to hit any who dared to surround him.

"There's too many of them." Leonardo shouted to his brothers. "Pull back!"

Slowly, the brothers escaped one by one with Raphael at the tail and Leonardo taking the lead. The eldest brother gritted his teeth, formulating the best possible plan to lead them to safety as the four of them leapt from rooftop to rooftop. Their pursuers were close behind. Leonardo leapt down to a fire escape, bolted off the rail to a lower fire escape on the opposite building and leapt back to a lower level of the first fire escape, alternating until they landed in an alleyway.

"We'll need to split up." He explained, heading for the main street. "Raph, you go with Mikey to the left. Donnie, with me! Keep your shell cells on! We'll meet in the sewer on the corner of East 30th and 3rd." The brothers split in their designated partnerships and bolted in opposite directions.

"How many we got on our tail?" Raphael inquired as they ducked into another alley. Michelangelo peeked around the corner.

"Uhm...None." Was the reply.

"What?"

"There's no one following us."

"We weren't moving that fast."

"They must have gone after Leo and Donnie."

"Must've been their plan all along." The red clad turtle growled. The younger of the siblings pulled out his shell cell and dialed his brother's number. They waited with grim expressions as it rang.

"Come on..." Michelangelo groaned. The click of someone picking up on the other end made his heart jolt. "Donnie!?"

"Mikey!" A Donatello's breathless voice came through the receiver. "Are you guys okay? We're still being tailed!"

"Dude! None of them followed us!" Michelangelo replied.

"What?! You mean to say they're going after us?" Donatello asked in spite of knowing the obvious answer. Leonardo could be heard softly cursing in the background.

"We're going to have to move quick." The leader finally said through the receiver.

"What do ya want us to do?" Raphael asked, restlessly pacing.

"Just head for the meeting spot, At least we'll know that you guys are safe." Leonardo responded. A crashing sound suddenly came from Michelangelo's shell cell.

"WOAH!" Donatello cried out.

"DONNIE!" Leonardo's voice followed immediately. The sounds of struggle came thereafter.

"Leo! What's going on!?" Raphael demanded, into the cell, grabbing it from his little brother. "Leo! LEO!" No answer came from either brother. Only the sound of fighting.

"Donnie, get up! DONNIE!" The leader's muffled commanding voice could be heard. "Raaaagh!"

"LEO! DONNIE!" Raphael shouted. More sound of a scuffle followed and slowly faded.

"Say goodbye to your brothers." A stranger's voice said over the receiver before hanging up the cell. The brothers stared at the shell cell in silence.

"What are we going to do?" Michelangelo whined, a fear for the safety of his brothers gripping at him.

"We're goin' to find 'em and bring 'em home!" Raphael growled squeezing the cell. "There's gotta be a tracker on this thing." The older turtle clumsily pushed at the buttons, muttering. "Of all times for Master Splinter to go on a retreat."

"We should call April and Casey!" Michelangelo suggested.

"Great idea 'cept they're in Hawaii for their honeymoon."

"Shell...We're on our own for this."

"Ha! Got this piece of junk to work!" Raphael stared at the blinking dots on the screen. "Let's go save our brothers." They nodded to each other and made the climb to the rooftops to better track their missing brothers. Once above the city, they looked at the screen of the shell cell. The purple dot was staying in one place while the blue dot moved from it.

"Are they only taking Leo?" Michelangelo inquired as they ran in the direction of the purple dot's location.

"I dunno, Mikey." Raphael replied. "They might've just left Donnie's phone behind." They raced from roof to roof until they were right above the purple dot. Looking down, they sound an empty street. The brothers scaled down the building and found what Raphael had predicted. Donatello's shell cell was left on the ground. The alarming part was the blood not too far from it. It wasn't a lot but it was enough to spell out that someone was injured. Raphael's mind quickly went to Leonardo screaming for their brother to get up.

"That's not from Donnie...is it?" Michelangelo asked regarding the blood.

"Could be." Was the honest reply. Raphael grabbed Donatello's shell cell from the ground and they moved on in silence; the concern for heir brothers growing at an alarming rate. No leader to lead them. No brainiac to suggest a device to aid them. The hot head and the joker were on their own. They headed for the direction the blue dot was moving toward. By the speed if its movements, it had to be in a vehicle of some form. "Once we know where they're takin' 'em, we can figure out how to break 'em out."

"How are we going to escape all of those foot ninjas? I didn't know they had that many members."

"We'll figure somethin' out!" Raphael snapped, determined to take back his brothers. He could see his younger brother visibly wince at his tone. "We gotta...We gotta work together. Once we get to Leo, he'll have a plan."

"Yeah! We got this!" Back to the rooftops they went, leaping from building to building to get closer to the blue dot which ultimately led them to a warehouse. They studied it from a distance. There was, suspiciously, no one in sight.

"You sure you read that right?" Michelangelo inquired.

"They gotta be in there."

"So what's our plan?"

"The plan is: you two get caught." Someone said from behind them. Before they could react, both were struck in the head and all that was left to greet them was the darkness of unconsciousness.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Figured I'd make a Mikey/Raph centric story. In the Mirage comics, Raphael is closest with him and I want to explore this. This is going to be a short fic. Maybe a couple more chapters. Reviews are welcome and delicious.  
**


	2. Labyrinth

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything TMNT related. This would have been in the comic or TV show, otherwise.  
**

 **A touch of spoilers from the episode The Prodigal Son. You have been warned!**

* * *

 **Labyrinth**

Through the darkness, a muffled sound alerted him to wakefulness. He opened his eyes to a blurred mess of red and green. Something was tapping his face. Oh, it was a hand. Pain throbbed against the back of his head to serve as a reminder why he was out in the first place. As his vision began to clear, he realized it was his second older brother hovering above him. The air around them seemed still. They weren't outside anymore. Someone moved them indoors.

"Mikey!" The low octave of his brother's voice took over his attention. He sat up quickly only to regret it as the pain in his head seemed to worsen.

"Woah!" He cried out holding the back of his head. "Wh-where are we?"

"Don't know." Raphael replied, ever the informant. Satisfied with his brother's state of consciousness, the larger turtle stood and observed his surrounds. They seemed to be in a hallway of some form. The walls were stone and extended both ways. Each side had an option of taking a turn to the right or the left. He approached a wall, smoothing his hand over it before knocking on it. "Solid...No way of breakin' through." He muttered. Michelangelo could read the agitation in his brother's posture; hunched shoulders, clenched fists and a scowl.

"What should we do?" He stood now that the pain seemed to dull into an ache.

"No use stayin' here." Raphael grunted. He scanned both ends of the hall before he decided on a direction. "What kind of place is this?" He inquired mostly to himself. The younger terrapin followed his brother. He placed his hands on his nunchucks, relieved that his weapon wasn't taken away. Why would somoene capture them, drop them off in a hall with weapons without explanation? His hand grazed against something else tucked in his belt. The shell cell!

"Hey!" He called out as he whipped it out. "Maybe we can call for help!"

"Oh, yeah." The other rolled his eyes. "Help. We don't know where we are."

"You need to work on that negativity, man." The orange clad turtle sniffed indignantly before dialing. "We can see if Leo still has his." He brought the cell up to listen intently for a ring. His face fell in an instant the moment he noticed that there was nothing but silence. He looked at the phone and realized why. "No signal."

"Maybe we'll find some elsewhere." Raphael suggested in an attempt to cheer his crestfallen sibling up. "Come on. Let's get outta here."

They continued onward, taking a right. The walls weaved endlessly until they found themselves at a dead end. The red clad turtle glared at the wall as if staring it down would blow it out of his way. Without a word, they backtracked down to take the left instead until it took them to another intersection, giving them the option of going left, right or straight.

"Dude! We're in a maze!" Michelangelo concluded. "Or a...What's it called? Starts with an 'L'!"

"Shell if I know! This is more Donnie's thing. We're trapped like rats!" Raphael grumbled as he racked his brain for the best approach.

"No offense, Sensei." Michelangelo muttered in reaction. Rodent analogies were always a sensitive topic. A sideways glare was all he earned from big brother.

"We gotta mark down where we go." He surveyed their surroundings and picked up a stone that laid among others. With a little force, he scraped a white "L" on the wall before heading down the hall. "Let's go." They hit another dead end and backtracked again. After marking an "R", they headed down the right turn.

"This is boooooring!" The youngest brother whined after an half and a hour of traveling. As if on cue, a rumbling growl sounded up ahead.

"Ya had to say somethin'!" Barked the red clad turtle as he pulled out his sais.

A shadow casted itself on the wall, growing to their right as its owner approached fast around the corner. The moment it came into view, Michelangelo let out a high pitch scream. Staring them down was a monstrous perversion of nature. With the head of a bull, the body of a lion, a scorpion tail and the hind legs of a horse. It let out a raging howl as it charged Raphael who twirled his sai in his hand as he prepared for the collision. As it tackled him, he beat the butt of his sais down on its head. The creature backed up with a snarl as Michelangelo hopped behind it, battering its back with his nunchucks. The monster attempted to stave of his attack with a swing of it's tail.

"Yeep!" The turtle yelped, averting contact with the stinger by jumping out of the way.

The elder brother was on his feet once more and charging. He leapt into a flying kick to its chest as the younger turtle took his cue flipping over the monster as it fell back. Landing deftly beside the larger turtle, they gave each other a high-three before the creature was back on its hooved feet. With a snarl it charged again, this time swing its paws at the brothers who leapt out of the way. It chased after, Michelangelo, puffing up its chest. Briefly coming to a halt, the beast spewed out fire from its mouth. As he tumbled out of the way, he could feel the heat from the flames licking the edge of his right shoulder.

"Shell!" He cried out.

"Oh, no you don't!" Raphael roared, hopping on to the creature's back. He twirled his sais before embedding them on both sides of its neck. It howled and bucked the turtle off; his grip on the sais tight as they pulled out of the beast's flesh. As he landed heavily, he shook the sais back and forth, allowing the blood to fly from the prongs. The creature stumbled about, losing blood at a fast rate. The red cladded turtle moved between his brother and the monstrosity in protective fashion before it dropped to the ground, twitching through its last breaths of life. When it stopped moving, they lowered their guard.

"I hope there aren't any more of those things." Michelangelo sighed, relieved it was all over.

His brother grunted in agreement and put his sais back in his belt. As the younger brother tucked his nunchucks away, his wrist grazed the shell cell. He pulled it out and dialed again in hopes that his luck proved to be better this time around. The brothers stared at the cell as it began to ring.

"Mikey!" Leonardo's voice came through.

"Leo!" He jumped, excited over the sound of his brother's voice.

"Are you alright?" Ever the older brother, looking out for his siblings' safety.

"We're trapped in some maze thing." Raphael answered. "We're fine otherwise."

"Great..." Leo sighed. "We-to find-way-" His voice began coming in and out.

"You're breaking up!" Michelangelo panicked.

"Ca-hear me?"

"Leo! Leo, how's Donnie! Is he okay?"

"Donn-he's a-up"

"What?" Frantically, he tried to improve the signal by raising the cell above his head. "Leo!" Incoherent conversation mixed with static was all that replied before it completely cut out. The brothers looked at each other. The orange clad turtle dialed again without success. He fought back the urge to throw the phone, not wanting to destroy the only link to their brother.

"Grr!" Raphael punched the wall.

"At least we know Leo's fine." The younger terrapin offered. The response was a snort.

"Old Fearless wouldn't admit if he wasn't. He could be half dead and he'd shake it off like a tickle." He reminded his brother. "We don't know what's goin' on with Donnie." A whine came from the nunchuck wielding brother.

"They've got to be fine!" He insisted. "I bet Donnie is! Even control freak Leo wouldn't be THAT calm if Donnie wasn't. Yeah! They're fine!"

"Whatever." Raphael grumbled but a touch of relief seemed to pass over his features.

They gave each other a nod before moving on. As Michelangelo passed by the fallen form of the beast, the scorpion tail shot at him. His brother was able to shove him out of the way just in time. However, the older sibling was not as fortunate. The tip sank into his left thigh. With a guttural roar, he ripped the tail off of his leg and spewed out a string of curses as his little brother pulled him away from the beast. The tail dropped, its last dying act complete.

"Raph! Oh no! I'm sorry!"

"Can it!" He hissed. The pain radiating throughout the muscle. He tested to see if he could bare full weight on the limb. Albeit excruciating, he could walk on it with a hint of a limp. "We gotta move." He ordered and carried on around the corner, his younger brother whimpering with remorse. "Cut it out, Mikey!"

"That should have been me, bro!" He protested.

"Yeah, well it ain't. You'd slow me down if you got hurt anyhow."

They proceeded down the path in silence, marking and backtracking as needed. The younger brother noted with much concern the slow decline in his gait. The limp was gradually getting worse and the the pain was apparent in his disposition.

"Maybe we should rest a bit." He offered.

"I'm fine."

"Er...I think I twisted my ankle back there. Can we stop for a bit?" The lie was blatant but it seemed to work on the elder brother. As much as he did not want to admit the pain was cumbersome, he was willing to use any excuse to get off that leg for a while.

"Ten minutes." He slowly slid down the wall and extended his injured leg out with a hiss. The younger brother peered at the puncture site. There was some swelling to the area and slight discoloration. His brother's eye ridge was furrowed as he grit his teeth against the pain.

"Hey..." Michelangelo scrambled to think of something to distract his brother. "Remember that time we were little and we got lost in the sewers."

"Yeah?"

"You kept saying we weren't lost and got us even further from the lair."

"Heh." Sweat beading on his head as he tried to think through the pain, he grinned. "You still believed to the very last second that I knew where we were goin'."

"Yeah! It got really dark and I got really scared. You said you'd protect me."

"Remind me. How did we end up gettin' home?"

"We heard someone coming and hid. Then you knocked him down with a piece wood and wailed on him. It ended up being Master Splinter." The brothers roared in laughter.

"Oh, man." The elder brother shook his head. "I had to do 100 flips for that."

"The look on Leo's face when we came home!"

"Ha! Master Splinter looked like a mess!" He chuckled. "'Ey, why don't you try Leo again?"

"Yeah." Out came the shell cell and they listened in silence, hoping for their brother's voice again. No voice. Not even a ring. Michelangelo slowly put it away with a weak smile. "Maybe we can get better signal further down."

"That's our cue to get movin'." He slowly brought himself to a standing position.

"Can't we rest a little longer?" A pout came to the younger brother's face.

"Nah. We gotta keep going'." He forced himself to walk through the pain with as little of a limp as he could muster. Michelangelo followed close by.

* * *

After what seemed to be hours of walking, Michelangelo noticed his brother stumbling moreso as they weaved through the maze. Several attempts were made to call Leonardo without success.

"Hey, bro. Why don't we rest a little while?" He suggested for the sixth time. "We can try Leo again."

"You ask me that one more time, I'm goin' ta knock ya out!" The larger terrapin growled.

"Come on, Raphie!" He whined, using the childhood pet name.

"Don't call me that!" He wheeled around at his younger brother.

"Why not, Raaaaaphie?" Michelangelo was grinning now, as he took note of his brother's annoyance.

"I'm warnin' you, Mikey!" Raphael barked, swiping at his sibling who dodged out of the way, laughing.

"What's the matter Raaaaaaphie!" He dodged out the way as his brother went to swing at him again.

"I'll kill you!"

Eh heh heh heh heh!" The younger brother cackled. He paused, noticing a large shadow at his feet. "R-raph?"

At this point, the older turtle grabbed his brother with a fist raised. He immediately noticed the puzzlement on his face and looked downward at the shadow on the ground. Both brothers slowly looked up. The owner being a giant spider. Raphael's mouth dropped wide open as it descended upon them. A forceful shove from his brother sent Michelangelo out of harms way. The spider landed on top of the red cladded turtle, it's fangs at ready. Its victim grabbed it by the shaft of the fangs, struggling against it as it attempted to sink into his plastron.

"Why does it always have to be bugs!?" He screamed in alarm.

"Raph!" Michelangelo gathered his bearings and leapt on top of the spider. He swept the length of his nunchuck under the fangs of the gargantuan arachnid and pulled up. Raphael took the opportunity to scramble clumsily away from the spider. He panted, the pain, fear and effect of the venom pouring a wave of dizziness over him.

"Shell..."

"Pass me a sai!" Michelangelo raised a hand. His brother hurled a sai in his direction, the point of it sank into the head of the spider between the eyes. It screeched in pain, throwing the orange clad terrapin off of its back. It swiped its front leg against the sai, knocking it off it's head, and scuttled up the wall toward the ceiling. The brothers stared at the ceiling. "I don't think it's coming back."

"Hate bugs..." His brother muttered.

"You didn't have to show off, you know. You could have tossed me the sai."

"That was what I was tryin' to do..." Silence. "It might be a good time to rest." He admitted after a beat.

"You think!?"

"Let's get away from that thing first." He indicated the spider that was hidden somewhere in the ceiling.

"Good idea." The brothers made their way further through the maze. "You're not looking so hot. You're looking more green than usual."

"Flattery will get ya everywhere." The elder sibling muttered sarcastically. He stopped and lowered himself to the ground. "This damn leg." The puncture site looked even more swollen than before. Michelangelo took a seat beside him.

"It could be worse. Remember when Karai found our lair in the sewer. I thought we were goners!"

"Don't know what I would've done if Leo didn't find us."

"At least we wouldn't have faced Donnie's wrath when he learned we destroyed the turtle Tunneler and the Shell Cycle." Michelangelo recalled sheepishly. Raphael winced.

"Crazy how he scary he gets when he's mad." Soft chuckles faded out as the weight of concern for their brother's wellbeing sank in. "He's gotta be alright."

"Of course." The smaller turtle affirmed. "He's with Leo."

"Yeah. Leo will get them out..." Slurred Raphael.

"Raph?"

"Mmm?"

"You alright, bro?"

"Mm fine."

The larger terrapin's head lolled as he fought the exhaustion that threatened to drag him into unconsciousness. His head found the pillow of his sibling's shoulder. Michelangelo wrinkled his nose up in reaction to the sting in his shoulder due to the friction of his brother's head rubbing against his burn. He exhaled slowly. Watching his older brother slowly give in to sleep, the younger turtle sighed and drummed his fingers on his knees. Though clammy, it didn't feel like had a fever which gave him great relief.

"Rest up, bro. This time, I'll look out for you." He murmured. For now, He would take on his brother's role of protector until he awoke...even if it was a little terrifying.

 _Leo, Donnie. You guys better be okay._

* * *

 **Author's note: I wanted to make Mikey a lot more upbeat but I couldn't rationalize it knowing that Donnie's situation was up in the air. Kind of dampens things, no? I want to share Leo and Donnie's situation but this is not their story. Might have to write a companion story to this to shed some light on their predicament. Thanks for the love so far. It helps me get to a resolution quicker and I think the turtles would appreciate that very much. ;)**


	3. Progression

**Well, this took the better half of my life to write! Terribly sorry! Thank you all for you reviews! Even though I take forever to push these chapters out, you keep me going! And now without further ado!**

* * *

 **Progression**

Bored! So bored! Michelangelo was able to maintain the persona of a protective brother for a max of fifteen minutes before he realized that there was nothing to occupy him while his older brother slept. No...Not just slept. Snored. So far, he tried making up songs, re-enacted his favorite movie scenes and scribbled on the wall with a piece of rock all with a slumbering mutant turtle resting his head on his aching shoulder. After pouting over his predicament for five more minutes, he nudged at his brother.

"Come on, man!" He whined. The sleeping brother merely grumbled some nonsensical words before roaring into a louder chorus of snores. The younger turtle sighed dramatically, giving in to his lot in life. Oh, what a cruel world it was for him to suffer so! Just then, the shell cell rang as if to answer his prayers. He scrambled to answer it with a burst of excitement.

"Mikey?" The eldest brother inquired.

"Leo!" Here, he jabbed at his sleeping brother. "Raph! RAPH! It's Leo!"

"Hmm…Wha?" Half asleep, the red clad terrapin looked about his surroundings as he lazily straightened himself up. "Leo?"

"Raph? You sound off." The elder brother stated.

"'S nothin'." The immediate younger sibling asserted.

"He got stung by a giant, scorpion monster tail!" Michelangelo gave away the red cladded brother's condition. With a glare, he wacked his younger brother in the back of the head. "OW!"

"Nice going, ding bat!"

" _What_ happened?" Their leader demanded.

"So there we were, trying to find a way out of this maze thing and then we heard this, 'Brarghlghlghl'" The youngest turtle animatedly made an attempt to give his interpretation of the monster's roar. "Then out came this freak monster thing with like a bull's head and a lion's body and I think a horse's legs and a GIANT, scorpion tail! So it knocked Raph down and I tried to beat it with my nunchucks but it got mad and tried to hit me with its tail. I was too fast though and Raph kicked it when it was distracted. Then it was all 'Brarghlghlghl' again and started breathing fire at me!" He paused to catch his breath while his older brother looked at him with exasperation.

"Ugh..." The red clad turtle face palmed. "After we killed the thing, its tail stabbed at us when we walked by."

"Are you alright?" The leader inquired of his sibling.

"Course I am!"

"His leg is swollen where it stung him."

"It's no big deal." Raphael interjected but his sibling continued on, ignoring his interruption.

"He's been limping and he doesn't look so hot. Is he going to die?"

"How long ago was he stung?" Another voice came through the shell cell.

"Donnie?" Raphael leaned closer to the phone with a wince as he shifted his leg ever so slightly. "You're alright?"

"A minor concussion and a bit of a shoulder wound, but fine." Was the reply. "When were you stung?" Red and orange looked at each other with a shrug.

"About a couple of hours ago?" Michelangelo replied.

"Hn. He would have died by now if it were lethal. I suspect the venom is slowing him down and his mutation is probably suppressing the worse effects of the neurotoxins. Just keep an eye on him for difficulty breathing. Otherwise, I'm sure he'll get through this." Donatello concluded.

"In the meantime, we need to get out of this." Leonardo moved on.

"What's the big plan, Fearless?" Raphael inquired.

"Donnie and I figured out that we're close." The eldest brother began.

"Turns out, we're under you right at this very moment." The family genius affirmed. "We used the tracker on our shell cells. It took a while but we were able to catch up to you."

"Looks like resting was a great idea." Michelangelo piped in. "No need to thank me, Raph."

"Who asked you?" Raphael growled at his brother before returning his attention to the cell. "How do ya propose we get to ya guys?"

"I'm thinking we continue on as we did before. Something tells me we will meet in the end and find out what all of this really is about...These foot soldiers are not with Karai." Leonardo informed his siblings.

"Then who the hell are they with?!" The red clad turtle implored with a growl.

"I'm sure we will know soon enough. We should keep in communication with each other as much as possible."

"The closer we are; the better signal we have to call each other." Donatello added. "Use the tracker to check on our location."

"Sure." Raphael grunted.

"Good luck. We'll see you guys at the end." The signal cut out as they hung up.

Michelangelo grinned from ear to ear as he eyed his red masked brother. Without warning, he threw himself at his elder sibling in a crushing bear hug. Not expecting the sudden display of affection, red tumbled over with a grunt and a curse.

"The shell, Mikey!?" He barked out.

"Donnie's alive!" He cried out ecstatically.

"Off!" Raphael shoved his brother away but he could not hide the small smile that revealed his relief. "Looks like we got a job to do."

He slowly brought himself to a standing position and applied weight to his affected leg. Still painful but he knew they had to carry on. His younger brother was almost dancing with excitement as he found a new source of unbridled energy. He began leading the way with the elder limping as quickly as he could behind. There was still more of the weaving through the maze they had to contend with. Raphael ignored his sibling's ramble as he concentrated on pushing the pain in his leg to the back of his mind. His current condition was a hindrance and he would be damned if he let it affect his ability to watch his brother's back.

"Dude!" Michelangelo whined at his sullen brother. "Are you even listening to me?"

"The hell are you goin' on about now?" Rolling his eyes, Raphael obliged his younger sibling by listening to his excited chatter. A stream of consciousness spilled from the excitable turtle as they weaved through the maze. He almost found himself smiling, his mood significantly brighter now that he knew his other brothers were alive and fairly well. The concussion was a bit of a concern, however, Donatello was still able to give insight to his own condition so he couldn't be too bad. An immediate halt on Michelangelo's part nearly caused a collision of turtles, as Raphael did not expect a sudden stop.

"What gives?" He demanded irritably as he glance around the orange clad youngster. Up ahead was a multitude of bunnies. For a brief moment, his mind went blank. Bunnies. They fought off a freak, perversion of nature and one of his worst fears and now they faced...bunnies. A squeal of delight came from his brother. Even Raphael had to note that they were cute. It didn't stop him from questioning why after battling two dangerous and frightening creatures, they now faced a hall of bunnies.

"Can we keep one!? Klunk won't mind!" Michelangelo scooped up a floppy eared rabbit and showed it off to his elder sibling with a broad grin gracing his features. This momentary distraction was keeping them from moving on, but Raphael took to indulging the younger one for the time being. That is, until the cute creature opened it's mouth to reveal a grotesque row of fangs that were reminiscent of something from Alien. Both brothers yelled out in surprised as the younger of the two dropped the not-so-cute bunny. It immediately sprung at the bigger turtle who reflexively swat it away from him before drawing out his Sais. That was when they realized the happy-go-lucky frolic the other bunnies were partaking in stopped as they all turned to stare eerily at the brothers.

"Perfect." Raphael grumbled, flipping his sais to a bludgeoning hold. A feminine scream alerted him to his younger brother's alarm as a herd of monster bunnies ran toward the them with high-pierced shrieks emitting from their gruesome maws. Breathing out a curse, he threw a punch with the hilt end of his sai, striking the forehead of a flying bunny. A quick glance at Michelangelo assured him that the fear did not hinder his brother's ability to battle. The younger terrapin was already batting away leaping cottontails with his spinning nunchucks.

They took to running through the horde of critters as they whacked them out of the way. The adrenaline did its job to dim the pain in his leg enough to allow Raphael to keep up with his brother to a degree. The bunnies gave chase and Raphael considered this a cruel parody of the tortoise and the hare. He heard a howl come from Michelangelo as one managed to sink its teeth into his left shoulder. Sais flipped to the bladed side, he whirled around and slice at the monster bunnies that leapt at him, keeping him from aiding his brother. There was no time to hold back. These freaks of nature were out for blood. Michelangelo cast the bunny down off of his shoulder with a yelp of pain before smashing all trace of sweetness from its tiny face. He knew with a feeling dread this would be fuel for future night terrors. The swarm of all things cute, fluffy and terrible came at the brothers as they swung with all ferocity to beat back the little terrors.

"What kind of monster turns a cute bunny into this!? These people are sick!" Michelangelo lamented as he knocked his nunchuck into another flying rodent.

"Ain't nevah lookin' at a rabbit the same way again." The red clad terrapin grunted into a slash. He was rewarded with brief scrapes to his skin each time he wasn't fast enough to fight off the 3lbs of fluffy fury that stormed them. They soon found themselves surrounded by the bodies of unconscious or injured monster-bunnies as they caught their breaths. Triumph was on their side but that did not settle the unease that came with facing the twisted version of what should have been a charming creature. Without another word, Raphael pushed his wide-eyed brother onward with a scowl deepening into his countenance. If ever he got his hands on the master-mind who decided to sick these messed up freaks of nature on them, he was determined that he would not show the slightest bit of mercy.

"Th-that was awful." Michelangelo intoned of their most recent plight. "Whoever is running this show is messed up! I'm going to be having bunny nightmares for months..." He watched Raphael twirl his sais before tucking them in his belt.

"Come on, before we have to deal with 'em again," he rumbled before kicking a limping bunny out of the way. The younger turtle followed his brother's lead as they trudged on.

"Why are there so many random things down here?" he inquired out loud as he inspected his own scrapes from the bunny attack.

"Feel like someone's testin' us." They continued in silence until the hit a dead end. Michelangelo pulled out his shell cell and switched it to the tracker option.

"Leo and Donnie aren't near us anymore," he murmured as the elder moved closer to get a better look.

"Say...They didn't tell us about where they were. Think they're in a maze like us?"

"I don't know, bro. They would probably be following us if they were." Michelangelo pointed out. He dialed to call them only to be met with silence. "No signal."

"This is bullshit..." The hothead of the family grumbled as he continued back to their last intersection. "Someone is playin' games and it's pissin' me off!"

"Chill out, bro. Let's think about the positive! There's going to be an end to this and we know we're not alone. Leo and Donnie are here and they're okay!" Though Raphael grumbled in response, he did not argue. As they carried on, Michelangelo continued to try to keep his brother entertained. The result was typically an annoyed jab or a swat which the younger gladly dodged with a jocular grin. The more distracted he kept his brother, the less likely he was to fly off the handle in a fury. After another half hour, they eventually found themselves reaching a large room with an opening in the center of the floor. They could hear voices coming from it.

"Donnie? Leo?" Michelangelo called out as they raced toward the opening.

"Mikey!" Donatello's voice came from the darkness below. A wave of relief washed over the baby of the family as he peered down.

"I'm so glad you're here! Are you guys alright?" He inquired, wishing he could see them. "I can't see you."

"We're a bit roughed up but we're fine." Was the reply. "We're pretty far down."

"Perfect." Raphael growled. "Just how are we supposed to get them up here? We ain't got anything to pull 'em up with." They looked about their surroundings for anything that could act as a makeshift rope. Nothing appeared to be appropriate for their need which further infuriated, the hot head.

Michelangelo frowned at his brothers back as a steady stream of curses spewed from his snarling lips. He could not help but feel his own sense of disappointment. They were so close to reuniting with the other two. Whoever trapped them here sure knew how to get under their skin. The orange clad turtle lowered his head and found a sense of déjà vu prickling against the back of his neck as he gazed at the growing shadow below him. A sickening feeling hit his gut and he knew what the shadow belonged to but his eyes stole a glance above at the descending spider from before. Now seeking vengeance, it reached out for the frozen turtle. A strong pair of hands clapped down on the top of the younger turtle's shell and he was pulled out of the spider's reach at last minute.

"The hell is wrong with you!?" Raphael roared at his brother as he brushed past him and leaped into the air with sais at ready in his expert grip. "Get it together, bro!" He shouted out as he slammed his foot into the many eyes of the arachnid; causing a shriek in response.

"What is going on up there?" Leonardo's voice demanded.

"We got a giant spider problem." Michelangelo shouted toward the other two as he pulled his nunchucks from his belt. "It's come back to take us out." He ran after his elder brother and swung a nunchuck to keep one of the swinging front legs from hitting the larger turtle.

"I think I have an idea!" Donatello called out after moment. "Someone needs to pull some silk from the spinnerets!"

"Someone has to what now?" Raphael grounded out as he leaped out of the way of another swinging limb.

"The silk should be strong enough to work as a rope. Especially if it's coming from a giant spider." The genius explained himself. "The spinneret is located in the-"

"I know where!" The hot headed terrapin interrupted with much dread.

"One of you will have to distract it while the other one extracts the silk." Leonardo directed. Michelangelo glanced at his brother who quickly met his gaze. In silence, they did a quick game of rock-paper-scissors. Raphael's rock killed Michelangelo's scissors and the younger turtle groaned as he did a flip over the eighte-legged creature. The spider went to turn after the agile brother but his elder sibling had other plans. He immediately tucked his sais away before grabbing the arachnid by the fangs right below where it met the chelicera. With a strong tug, he turned the spider to face his direction before shoving its head down toward the ground with the added push of his weight. He placed his knee on top of its head and bore down on it. Biting down on the pain that leaning on his shaky lower extremity caused, he freed one hand to swat at the front legs that struggle to knock him away. He growled out, "Hate. Spiders," And practically shivered each time he made contact with a leg.

"Get a move on it!" he barked at his younger brother who seemed to be taking his sweet time staring at the arachnid's rear with an uncomfortable whimper.

"You may want to massage one of the spinnerets to get it going!" Donatello's voice drifted up from the hole in the ground. Trying to overcome the wave of nausea that threatened to rear its ugly head, Michelangelo reached for the spinnerets and grabbed a hold of the white, fairly sticky silk that dangled from the rear. With a swift tug, he rounded the spider and dodged out of the way of its flailing legs before he made his way toward the hole in the floor. The silk followed his lead to the edge of the opening and he tossed it over the side, continuing the pulling motion to allow as much silk as needed to reach his hidden brothers. After a moment of silence and shuffling, Leonardo called up.

"You can pull us up now!"

Raphael took that as a signal. He quickly removed a sai from his belt with his free hand and sank it into the spider's head. With a quick jerk, he pulled his weapon back and scooted backwards out of the shrieking creature's way as it retreated up the wall, dragging the silk behind it. The higher it climbed, the more their brothers came into view. A sling made from Donatello's mask held Leonardo's right arm in place. His left hand held his katana. Silk wrapped around both their frames, Donatello had one arm around his elder brother and the free hand holding the filament. He released the silk and reached out once the edge was close enough. After hoisting himself and Leonardo up, the blue clad terrapin sliced the silk loose. Raphael and Michelangelo descended on their brothers and helped them to their feet.

"Dude! What happened to your arm!?" The youngest cried looking the oldest over as he sheathed his katana. With a grim expression, he shook his head in response. Michelangelo couldn't tell if it was contained anger or pain that caused the wordless answer. The pallor of his skin and the sweat on his ridge indicated pain. He threw his arms around his brother, careful to avoid bumping the effected limb. Leonardo pat his back in response. His eyes fell on the bite mark on Michelangelo's left shoulder.

"What is that?" He inquired and almost immediately regretted it as it cued his younger brother up to tell a detailed account of their encounter with the bunnies.

"Man, Leo! It was awful! There were these cute, little bunnies filling the hallway and I almost wanted to bring one home but it had these freaky set of teeth and started making this crazy noise like 'Skreeeeeeeeeee!' And it tried to eat Raph but he knocked it down. Then all of his little bunny brothers and sisters attacked us. All going 'Skreeeeeeeee!' I swear! I thought we were going to die!" As he babbled on, Leonardo obliged his brother by patiently listening to the most abnormal enemy his brothers had faced. They needed a brief period of rest while they inspected each other.

Meanwhile, Raphael was looking over the resident genius who focused on the swelling puncture mark on his leg. He looked thoroughly exhausted and squinted his eyes a bit too much. The concussion was definitely affecting the resident brainiac which was a great concern. Looking at the condition of his brothers, Raphael knew they were not at peak form and that was a great disadvantage when one did not know who their enemy was.

"How bad does it hurt?" Donatello inquired as he palpated the surrounding tissue. With a grimace, the elder turtle muttered a nonchalant answer as if to wave off any signs of pain. The typically purple clad terrapin knew better than to take his word at face value. The grimace was enough to indicate a level of pain that the more muscular turtle could not hide as well as he usually did with minor injuries. The last clash with the arachnid drained him especially after a long night of battling one crazy thing after the other. Between the effects of the neurotoxins and the exertion from constantly being on the move, his muscles were screaming.

"Not to cut this reunion short, but we need to keep moving. There has to be a way out of here." Leonardo finally stated to his brothers now putting an end to the catching up period. There was a reason they ended up in this room. He shushed his murmuring brothers and furrowed his eye ridge. Cocking his head to the side, he approached a wall and pressed his left hand against it has he turned his head as if to listen more closely. "This is an entrance or exit of some form. I can hear something on the other side." Donatello approached the same wall and inspected it closely as Michelangelo hopped restlessly from one foot from the other. Raphael let his gaze float lazily around the room, looking out for the potential return his arch nemesis, the spider.

"Ah!" Donatello let his hand pass over a slightly discolored stone on the wall. Pushing against it, a clicking noise came from the wall before it opened to reveal a staircase. The brothers all eyed each other as they slowly drew out their weapons. With light steps they ascended the stairs keeping an eye open for any potential ambushes. Nothing was met with ease this night and they weren't about to let their guard down. At the top of the steps was a dark room. They carefully made their way deeper into the room before the whole space lit up with a blinding light. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust. Standing before them were four men in ninja gear quite different from the typical foot ninjas they were used to fighting. One them stepped forward and clapped his hands.

"Congratulations, turtles. You made it," he announced spreading his arms open.

"You!" Leonardo growled softly; his grip on his sword tightening but his composure remaining calm as if not to reveal any other emotion but discontent. Michelangelo's eyes flashed between his leader and the ninja who spoke. Somehow they knew each other but he could not place this man. The four ninjas were the only people in this room, but somehow the youngest turtle knew it was not going to be a fight they would win under their current conditions. There was a mild tightening feeling in his heart as he gave in to the momentary consideration that they may not make it out alive.

 _Aw, man! And the new edition of Justice Force is coming out tomorrow!_

* * *

 **Author's note: Uh oh! Will Mikey ever get that blasted comic? Again, I must apologize for taking so long. I work full time and this winter has me wrapped in a blanket burrito on my days off. I have neglected all of my stories but never fear! Spring is coming! I sort of wrote myself into a corner and couldn't find my way out...and then...bunnies happened. No...not plot bunnies. Scary man-eating bunnies. I have plans developing for Separated and Divided. We are nearing the end...or are we? Muahahahahaha! Please share the love!  
**


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